Flight Risk
by Jordan Trevor
Summary: The Captain and the Commander deal with a possible flight risk. Just a little drabble set in Voyager's future.


**Disclaimer: **The _Voyager_ crew doesn't belong to me.

"You'll have to ask your father."

"Mom!"

"Shh… When your father's awake, you can ask him."

"But, Mom… You're the captain!"

"Don't even start. You know rank holds no place in this family. Now, like I said, you can ask your father when he's awake… and then we'll talk about it."

"You're no fair."

Kathryn Janeway sighed as he daughter flipped her long hair over her shoulder, pivoted on one foot, and stalked out of the bedroom.

"She's right. You're no fair."

Kathryn exhaled another sigh and stared over at the dark head on the pillow next to hers, thick, bristled hair peppered with salt and grey.

"And you're no help," she chided, slapping him gently on the bare shoulder that was turned toward her. "You were awake the whole time."

"Ow!" He winced and rolled over onto his back, eyes squinting open. He smiled up at his wife. "I didn't want to interrupt a mother-daughter talk."

She shook her head. "That's an excuse."

"No, it's not. And besides, Katie's right." His smile widened. "You are the captain. And dealing with a persistent teenager is just another burden of command."

"A shared burden," she countered, sliding down from her propped position and elbowing him in the ribs. "She's your teenager, too."

Chakotay laughed and pulled Kathryn into his arms, her head resting on his shoulder. "I say we let her do it."

"Chakotay!"

"You wanted my opinion."

"She's only thirteen."

"A perfect age to begin flying lessons," he replied calmly.

_A little too calmly,_ Kathryn thought. "She wants her Uncle Tommy to teach her." Maybe that would break the calm.

But it didn't.

"A good choice," Chakotay said without missing a beat.

Kathryn raised herself up on one elbow and stared hard at her husband. A lot of years had passed and the relationship between Chakotay and Paris was strong now. But still, there was a slight edge, a well-maintained balance of mutual respect and uncertainty.

"You think letting Tom teach our daughter how to fly a shuttle is a good idea?"

"Why not? Twenty-two years ago you thought it was a good idea to let Tom fly _Voyager_. If you were willing to bet the entire crew on Tom's piloting skills, then I'd say Katie's safe enough with him. Besides, he taught Miral how to fly, and now she's already one of our best pilots."

"She's two years older than Katie and has a genetic predisposition towards flying." She flopped onto her back beside him. "You, my dear, have a terrible track record when it comes to shuttles."

He laughed. "Kathryn, why would our red-haired, blue-eyed daughter who looks nothing like me somehow inherit my supposedly less than stellar flying skills?" He turned over on his side, nudged his chin against her shoulder. "Face it – you just don't like the fact that our little girl is growing up."

And she frowned. He was right. "I hate it when you do that."

He smiled, his dimples etched deeply around his mouth. She reached out and ran her fingers over his bronzed cheeks.

"You have to let go a little bit, Kathryn."

"He's right!"

She sat up quickly and looked toward the other room. "Are you eavesdropping, young lady?"

Katie stepped through the open doorway, and, looking past her mother, she stared at the opposite side of the bed. "Dad, you're awake. Mom says I have to ask you. Can Uncle Tom teach me how to fly a shuttle?"

Chakotay propped himself up on his elbows and glanced over at Kathryn. "Well, Captain?"

She threw her hands up in the air. "I defer to you, Commander."

And Katie rolled her eyes. "I thought rank held no place in this family?"

"And I thought you wanted flying lessons?" Chakotay responded, a note of parental warning in his tone.

"I do, Dad. Please?"

He smiled. "All right. If Uncle Tom is willing to teach you, then you have our blessings."

"Thank you so much!" she squealed, rushing out of the room. "I have to go tell Miral."

And Chakotay collapsed back onto the bed, reaching up and pulling Kathryn down beside him. She settled her head on his shoulder. "Flying lessons!" she sighed exhaustively and felt soft laughter rumble through Chakotay's chest. "The next thing you know, she'll want to start dating."

And his laughter abruptly stopped. "Now, that's not going to happen," he declared, the tables suddenly turned.

Kathryn looked up at the worried expression on his face. "Oh, you are no fair!" she exclaimed, then pressed a kiss to his chin.

~The End~


End file.
